Post by Funky Munky on Mar 11, 2010 1:09:14 GMT -5

This thread may be more valuable than the "what I did wrong" kind of threads. You guys made some great choices. This year will be my first and it's great to be able to learn from some good decisions not just a bunch of dumb a$$ mistakes. Peace.

Post by Ellie on Apr 24, 2010 15:27:39 GMT -5

-Body glide (this stuff is the shiz)-Camping at Rock Island Wed. night (beautiful beautiful place, I highly recommend it)-dry ice (how did I ever do roo without fizzy fruit?)-airbed under shade canopy in addition to one in the tent (extra sleep made me good to go for late nights)

Rock Island really does look great! And it might be right on my way to Roo! yesss!! I also realized there's a state park around the corner from Roo called Old Stone Fort www.tn.gov/environment/parks/OldStoneFort/. Not sure if I'd have to time to go to either, but nice idea at the least

Post by mphsvoodoo on Apr 25, 2010 13:28:24 GMT -5

We are doing Rock Island again this year, so if you come by and meet us. We had so much fun hanging out at the waterfalls. We went light on the hiking as we knew we were about to spend 4 days walking our butts off. It's only about a 45 min drive to Roo in the morning. We had planned on getting a good nights sleep Wednesday night, BUT, someone accidentally dropped our only set of keys into the truck and then SHUT THE TRUNK. We had to find a Walmart and buy tools to take out the back seat. Ended up going to be around 4am. Still, was nice not to have the long early morning drive. I look forward to more sleep this year as we will NOT be making the same mistake with the keys!!

Post by Ellie on Apr 25, 2010 13:39:49 GMT -5

We are doing Rock Island again this year, so if you come by and meet us. We had so much fun hanging out at the waterfalls. We went light on the hiking as we knew we were about to spend 4 days walking our butts off. It's only about a 45 min drive to Roo in the morning. We had planned on getting a good nights sleep Wednesday night, BUT, someone accidentally dropped our only set of keys into the truck and then SHUT THE TRUNK. We had to find a Walmart and buy tools to take out the back seat. Ended up going to be around 4am. Still, was nice not to have the long early morning drive. I look forward to more sleep this year as we will NOT be making the same mistake with the keys!!

Oh wow! That was unfortunate, but you can just call it a part of your Roo adventures, lol... When do you guys usually get there? Wed am/afternoon? And how much is the camping? I'm wondering if I'd really benefit from camping out there cause I don't want to pack it all away again and then unpack all over in the same day. I'm thinking of possibly just visiting the park and then headin over to Roo Wed night or chillin at Walmart. My 1st Roo this year, so I might just do the Walmart method, even if just stopping by for some last minute shopping, to see the crowd and experience as much as possible. Trying to save $ too.

I love Tennessee's natural beauty though. I'd love to make time to stop by a park and at least take a lil hike and a bunch of pictures.

Post by mphsvoodoo on Apr 27, 2010 16:25:12 GMT -5

It was definitely part of our experience and is a great story NOW, but I was an unhappy mama THEN. We usually get to Rock Island around noon on Wed., gives us plenty of time to hang out and check out the falls. We live in West. TN, so it's only about a 4hr drive for us. I think the sites are $28 a night..but we only put one tent on the site, we could fit another. You are welcome to come share some land with us for free We camp a lot, so it is not really a big deal packing up our shit, and we could help you if you needed it. How many in your Roo crew? We have 3, maybe 4 that will be moving on to Roo, but my daughter and one of my son's friends usually comes to Rock Island to spend the night that Wed. then goes back home when we leave for Roo. You'd be safe with my crew..I'm a 39yo Mom, my son is 20, and our other Rooer is a friend in his 40's. My son's friend who is 20 and my daughter who is 14 will camp with us at Rock Island. I've never done the Walmart thing..but at my age, I really like to sleep in comfort and enjoy myself the night before, and the Walmart parking lot does not seem that conducive to a peaceful evening. Trust me, you will get the full effect the 4 days at Roo. If you decide you want to chill with us Wed., shoot me a message privately! In addition to being safe we are really kynd too

Post by Ellie on Apr 27, 2010 17:41:13 GMT -5

I have to wait on my friend and see what he decides. Even though he's contemplating Roo, he's kinda weary of the big crowds and strangers. He got upset at me for offering my tent to someone who was offering a free ticket in exchange for a ride. Didn't work out though... *sad face*

I'm 24, he's 23, and if he goes, it'd be the 2 of us, and maybe 1 more person that I may be able to squeeze in and help with a ride up here from the dc area. We'll see. Plans are still tentative, unfortunately. I wish I had more $ to buy a ticket now and get it over with, but darn $360 car payments make it hard with the small income I make off babysitting right now.

Personally, I can get along with anyone and would love to make the most of the experience. Share a tent/campsite/driving, etc.

Post by dreamingtree on Feb 23, 2011 12:16:51 GMT -5

Not sure if I already posted here but I pretty much got everything right last year, but the best thing that I did was spend about an hour (before we left) to cut up a ton of fruit (canteloupe, water melon, melon, grapes, oranges and kiwi) and put it in tupperware in the coolers. We had cold fruit every time we went back to our camp and had it for breakfast with bagels and cream cheese.

Post by JHOinTN on Feb 23, 2011 12:22:48 GMT -5

Last year, the best thing I did was rest when I felt like I needed to. That meant missing some daytime sets I really wanted to see, but in the long run, I was really happy I did it. I had more energy for late-night sets.

Post by ronatron on Feb 23, 2011 12:41:20 GMT -5

My first year I pushed it hard during the day and was exhausted by night and didn't make it out for too many late-night sets. Now I focus on taking it easy during the day and I'm able to stay out late every night, it's so much more fun that way. Getting a decent amount of sleep on Thursday night is key as well.

Post by belltwala1 on Mar 22, 2011 9:46:59 GMT -5

i am in accessible so im close to centeroo and can walk back and forth a lot. i tend to try to get a good nap in between the hours of 4 and 11. its cooler and i can often find time to nap in there somewhere and then get back up. most people are in centeroo during those hours so its fairly quiet at that time as well. im so close to centeroo i can hear when the headliner starts and ends as well.

also.....ive found it better not to even factor drinking alcohol into the weekend. i dont bring it and i dont buy it. if it comes along or if i run into a vender who has mixed drinks for sale in the camp area then ill have one but for the most part its MUCH easier not to have to deal with it, look for it, or deal with the effects of it. last year i threw a gallon of tea into the freezer on a whim...mannn that was the best crap EVER at roo. it was frozen when i put it in the cooler so it doubled as ice im taking LOTS of tea this year. another thing i like about tea is that if it gets a bit warm you can just put more ice in it. beer wine or cokes - not so much when they are out of temperature.

Post by bdiddy on Feb 21, 2012 10:29:25 GMT -5

We pretty much did everything right thanks to this board last year. We were probably had too much stuff. We definitely brought way too much food and ended up feeding a lot of people around us to get rid of it. We had 2 ez ups, lots of tarps, table, chairs, we built the shower that someone gave instructions to on here and it was awesome. We brought a hammock, our battery operated tailgating system to provide music for our area. We also had 3 giant coolers and went the dry ice route which worked out great.

One of the things my husband threw in our truck at the last minute was his tool bucket. He had all the basic tools, duct tape, zip ties, rope, scissors, knives, all kinds of misc stuff and you wouldn't believe how much this came into use! My husband was like the handy man of our area going around with his bucket helping people with various things.

I'm honestly not sure what we could do better this year than maybe go a little bit lighter on all the food.

Post by bug512 on Feb 21, 2012 11:19:35 GMT -5

We drove down to Chattanooga (from New Jersey) on Wednesday and spent the night. Then on Thursday morning we had breakfast and then it was a short 100 mile drive. Not to mention that you gain a hour when you cross into central time.

This was our second year doing this and it has made the trip much more enjoyable being rested before the weekend.

Another thing I did was go to bed early on Thursday night at around midnight.

Woke up Friday feeling really good.

Another is Advil, 2-4 every day. Works wonders since it's a anti-inflammatory.

Post by krstlpeach on Feb 22, 2012 0:15:51 GMT -5

Thanks to this board, we really had just about everything we needed and then some. It was our first time going and I think we had a pretty sweet set-up for a pair of noobs. Shaded hammock, zero gravity recliners, huge RV mat under the EZ-Up complete with swagged curtains, and every other doodad and thingamijig possible. I was able to help out some of my awesome neighbors and they happily helped us out with a few things as well. Couldn't have done it without all of you guys! I went through my totes today and made a pile of things that we had extras of and will bring them to donate to people who may need them.